The Longer the Waiting
by LongLiveLaura
Summary: Laura and Bill reconnect after New Caprica. Sex? Yes. Plot? Not so much. Contains graphic descriptions of sex.
1. Chapter 1

The requisite speeches given, the obligatory handshakes offered, the Admiral of the Colonial Fleet and the former (and soon to be reinstated) President of the Twelve Colonies were anxious to escape the celebration taking place on _Galactica's_ hangar deck. The crew were indulging in the Chief's homemade hooch and conducting raucous reunions. Backs were being slapped, jokes being told and laughed at as music from someone's portable wireless echoed through the cavernous space.

Bill and Laura observed the growing rowdiness from a respectable distance. Without taking his eyes from the revelry in front of them, Bill leaned towards Laura and said, "They needed this."

Laura nodded and offered an affirmative "Hmm."

It had been just days since _Galactica's_ heroic return to New Caprica and the escape of what remained of humanity from that gods forsaken planet. While the time would come when everyone had to deal with the hell that was New Caprica under Baltar's "presidency" and the Cylons' rule, tonight was about forgetting.

The Admiral and the former president needed this, too. This party. This excuse to be together. Bill had seen Laura only briefly since her return - since her Raptor's arrival on this very deck two days ago. They hadn't even spoken then - each drawn into separate crowds of people and away from the other. They'd locked gazes before losing sight of each other and had communicated their shared relief, optimism, joy in that look. Since, the Admiral had been busy working to reintegrate his crew and assess and assign the crew from Pegasus. Laura had been making arrangements for the re-establishment of the Colonial government, as well as attempting to see to the needs of tens of thousands of civilians.

Now, having set aside their responsibilities for the night, they were finally together. But they weren't yet alone. And after having been separated for more than four months, they wanted to be alone together. Bill looked over at Laura and was struck anew with desire. She was once again clad in her "presidential uniform" - jacket over the green blouse, the short black skirt that revealed an obscene length of those legs, the heels. He thought maybe her hair was longer, her eyes greener. And she was _here_. He ached to touch her, and so leaned into her personal space, whispered in her ear "You ready to get outta here?"

Laura closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. "I thought you'd never ask," she sighed. Bill chuckled and met her smile with one of his own when she turned to look at him.

As they took their first steps towards freedom, Kara bounded up to them, Sam Anders in tow.

"Admiral, ma'am," she nodded in greeting. "Helluva party, huh?"

Bill, pushing down his annoyance at being held up, agreed. "Looks like things are starting to heat up." He gestured to Laura and continued, "We were just about to make a graceful exit. Leave you young folks to it."

Starbuck shook her head. "Not yet. You haven't shared a toast with us."

At this, she swallowed the last of what was in the tin cup she held, grabbed the jar of _Galactica's_ finest tucked into her waistband and poured a refill. As Kara thrust the cup into Bill's hand, Sam held a duplicate out to Laura with a sloppy smile. She accepted the proffered drink and looked at Bill dubiously. When he just shrugged his shoulders, Laura rolled her eyes and sighed. Kara and Sam raised their jars of moonshine aloft and waited for Bill and Laura to do the same. When they did, Kara said "To family reunions!" and she and Sam brought the jars to their lips.

Laura, desperate to hasten their departure, lifted the cup to her mouth and knocked back the drink in one go. And immediately regretted the move. She was sure she'd just swallowed acid. _Flaming_ acid. The burning liquid scorched a path down her throat until it erupted in a fireball in her gut. She nearly doubled over, attempting to catch her breath in the grips of a coughing fit. Kara fairly bubbled with laughter and Sam looked on with his stupid, sloppy smile. Bill reached to pat Laura on the back.

"You okay?"

She waved him off and straightened up. She held up her empty cup in salute, dipped her head and choked out "Smooth," setting the other three to laughing.

Bill finished his drink, took the cup Laura was holding and handed them both to Starbuck.

"I think it's time we called it a night. Thanks for the drink."

Laura snorted, said "Yeah, thanks a lot."

Kara snapped off an exaggerated salute, said "Anytime, sirs" then threw her arm around Sam's waist and barked out a laugh.

Bill was shaking his head as he looked at Laura and offered her his arm. She slid her hand into the crook of his arm and said "Let's get the hell outta here."

They turned to set off across the deck just as Lee started towards them unsteadily. At his muttered "Ah hell," Laura looked up and followed Bill's gaze in time to see Lee stumble, catch himself, then continue towards them on wobbly legs. She tightened her grip on Bill's arm, said "Let's move," and began propelling him towards the hatch.

Bill chuckled and picked up his pace to match hers."He's drunk," he said. "He'll never catch us."

"Let's not chance it."

When they reached the hatch, Laura dropped her hand from Bill's arm as he moved to open it. While he spun the wheel, she looked over her shoulder and saw that Lee had been stopped by his wife. From the look on his face, Laura guessed that Dee was chewing him out. Satisfied that they wouldn't be detained again, she turned back as Bill was stepping through the hatch. He turned to offer her his hand and she took it. As she made to move through to the corridor, the heel of her shoe caught on the strip of metal at the threshold. She tripped into Bill's arms with a surprised grunt. He righted her and held her at arm's length, grinning at the flush on her face.

"I think that poison that passes for an alcoholic beverage is frakking with my balance," she said, offering him a crooked smile.

"Can you make it to my quarters?"

"Try and stop me" she said, moved around him and struck off. Bill secured the hatch they'd just come through, turned and quickly closed the distance she'd put between them. When he had drawn even with her, he took hold of her elbow and matched her stride. Bill caught her eye and Laura laughed when he waggled his eyebrows at her.

"In a hurry?" he asked.

"You have no idea," she practically groaned in response.

When they finally rounded the corner and slowed to descend the few steps to his cabin, Bill moved his hand from her arm to push against the small of her back. Laura laughed and said "Now who's in a hurry?" They had to stop short at the closed hatch and Bill gently shoved her aside to spin the wheel and pop it open. He stepped back to allow her entry but couldn't keep his hands off her as she passed in front of him. He put his hands on her hips, said "Watch your step," and guided her through to his quarters.

Bill had barely pulled the hatch shut behind him when Laura launched herself at him, pushing him back against it. Her hands were in his hair, her body pressed tightly to his, her lips hard on his mouth. The tip of her tongue was sliding along his lips before he responded, opening his mouth to her insistent kiss and wrapping his arms tightly around her ribs. Laura moaned and rolled her hips into his, desperate for the contact. As the kiss became more ardent and Laura more forceful, Bill became painfully aware of the hard metal wheel of the hatch digging into his back. He moved his hands to her hips, pushing her body from his, ending their kiss abruptly with a wet smack as the motion separated them.

Laura's eyes flew open and she took a step back, raising one hand to cover her mouth. Bill watched as her expression changed from confusion to doubt to embarrassment.

"Bill, I'm so sorry. I -"

"No, Laura - _gods_ no. The hatch - my back ..." he stammered, attempting to reassure her as he reached for her.

He saw relief flood her features as understanding dawned. She hung her head, looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes and quietly said "You had me worried there for a minute."

Bill offered her a small smile, brought a hand up to brush his knuckles over her cheek.

"I've missed you, Laura."

He moved the hand from her face to cup the back of her head, bringing her to him for a kiss. Confident again in his intentions, Laura wrapped him in a crushing embrace and deepened the kiss. She felt his lips turning up into a smile under her kisses, pulled back and asked breathlessly, "What? What's wrong now?"

"Nothing. I'm enjoying your enthusiasm," he chortled.

"Well I am a bit -"

"Tipsy?" he suggested.

"_Horny_," she supplied, and smiling wickedly, leaned her head in to capture his mouth again. "It's been too long, I've missed this - you - so much," she panted between kisses. She stripped off her jacket and let it fall at their feet. "I can't... don't wanna wait..." she breathed into his mouth, grinding her hips against his burgeoning erection.

Bill pulled his mouth from hers to trail kisses up her neck, to her ear, rasped "The longer the waiting, the sweeter the kiss."

"Frak that," she huffed, running her teeth along the skin of his neck. "We've waited long enough."

With a gravelly "So say we all," Bill sucked her earlobe between his teeth, bit gently down on it. He grabbed a fistful of hair at the back of her neck and pulled, forcing Laura's chin in the air. He dragged his lips across the soft skin of her exposed throat, sliding his other hand from its place at her hip to the hem of her skirt. She mewled her pleasure and shuddered as he stroked the tender skin of her inner thigh with a firm touch. Her skirt followed the path of his hand, rising until he cupped her through the cotton barrier of her panties. Laura let loose a throaty hum and pushed shamelessly into his hand, heard Bill's quick intake of breath as her leg brushed against his erection.

Feeling his arousal served to compound her excitement and she rocked her pelvis into his touch, pressing her thigh harder against his length. Bill growled and snapped his head up from her neck, guiding her backwards until her ass made contact with the dining table. He returned his mouth to hers, meeting her eager tongue with renewed vigor. Without breaking the kiss, he moved both hands to where the hem of her skirt now sat high on her thighs, pushed it roughly up until it bunched around her waist, revealing her plain white underwear. He quickly returned the hand to between her legs, moved the other around to grab her ass, bringing her body more tightly to his.

Laura pulled out of the heated kiss and dropped her head to his shoulder as she continued to writhe in time with the movement of Bill's hand. Her breath hitched when he pulled the crotch of her panties aside to push a thick finger inside her. Bill groaned a stilted "So wet..." into her hair and ground against the thigh she'd kept between his legs. He slid a second finger into her body, pressed his thumb to her clit, eliciting a long moan from Laura. Encouraged by her reaction, he continued to frak her with his fingers, rubbing her clit in a steady rhythm as she clutched his shoulders for support.

"Gods, Bill," she breathed, "Oh gods, don't stop, Bill ..."

"You like that," a statement, not a question.

"Y-yesss," she hissed.

"You gonna come, Laura?"

"Yes, yyyesss... don't... stop..." she commanded as the movement of her hips, his fingers moving in and out of her, his hardness sliding along her thigh, reached a frenetic pace.

"C'mon, Laura - right now. I wanna watch you come."

And as though following the Admiral's order, Laura threw her head back, arched her back and cried out as her orgasm wracked her body. Bill was captivated as he looked on, felt her muscles spasm around the fingers he'd stilled inside her body. As he bent to capture with his tongue a bead of sweat making its way down her neck, Laura's hips jerked involuntarily with the waning of her climax. When he pulled back to look at her again, she dropped her forehead to his chest and sucked in a long breath.

As he withdrew the hand from between her legs, Laura lifted her head to place a lingering kiss on his mouth. He pulled his face from hers and bought his hand up to run a wet finger over her lips before kissing her again, licking the musky moisture from her mouth. She raised a hand to his weathered cheek and broke the kiss as a slow smile spread across her face. She looked at him through hooded eyes, whispered, "That was good," kissed him again and sighed, "Sooo good," then nuzzled her face into his neck.

He rumbled, "That was _sexy_, Laura," and squeezed her ass for emphasis.

He laughed at her muffled "Do I turn you on, Bill?" and took one of her hands in his, sliding it down to rest on the bulge in his pants.

"Yeah, Laura, you make my dick hard."

She stirred at his words as much as the action, took him firmly in hand and angled her head to run her tongue along his neck. She sucked at his skin there, careful not to leave a mark. Laura stroked him through the fabric of his uniform, leaning back to look at his face. His eyes were closed, nostrils flaring, jaw clenched.

"Give me your eyes, Bill."

His lids slid slowly open at her command and he had to work at focusing his gaze on hers. When she was sure she had his attention, she murmured, "You gonna frak me now?"

"Yes, Laura," Bill promised as he reclaimed her mouth and tugged her shirt from the crumpled mess that was the skirt at her waist. As his hands slipped under her shirt, traveled up the smooth expanse of her belly to cover her bra-clad breasts, he said "I'm gonna frak you now, and it's gonna be hard and fast -"

"Bill?"

"Hmm?"

"Quit talking about it and just _do_ it."

He squeezed her breasts together roughly, thumbed the rigid peaks of her nipples through the lace of her bra and responded with a hearty "Yes, ma'am."

With a force that was probably greater than necessary, he gripped Laura's hips and spun her around to face the table.

"Bend over."

As she complied with a sharply inhaled breath, supporting herself with her elbows on the table in front of her, Bill bent behind her and yanked her underwear down to her knees. He quickly righted himself, placed one hand flat on the small of her back and unzipped and withdrew himself with the other. He took himself firmly in hand and stroked the tip of his cock down the crack of her ass, rubbed it along her slick folds. They both moaned at the contact. Bill pushed into her then, hand still tightly wrapped around his shaft, and began frakking her with the head of his cock in short, quick strokes. Laura jerked a glance over her shoulder and pressed her ass back into his lap, attempting to take more of him into her body.

Taking the hint, Bill removed the hand from around his dick, took hold of her hips and slowly pushed his thick length into her, stretching and filling her. When he was completely sheathed in her wet heat, he stilled.

"Gods, you are so tight," he groaned.

Laura whimpered and circled her hips. Bills eyes drifted shut and his head fell back as his dick twitched at the movement. He tightened his grip on her hips and ground into her before slowly pulling back and plunging in again. He opened his eyes, gaze drawn to where their bodies were joined. As he began frakking her with long, sure strokes, Bill watched his cock, glistening with the wetness of her arousal, slide in and out of Laura's body.

In front of him, Laura splayed her hands on the wood table and pushed up onto her arms. Locking her elbows, she moved her lower body to meet Bill thrust for thrust. Her long curls fell to curtain her face from view as her head sagged. She drew in a long breath, sighing his name on its slow release from her lungs.

Bill reached a hand up and closed it tightly around her shoulder and began driving into her with barely controlled force. Laura lifted her head and gave it a quick toss to the side, sending her hair spilling back over Bill's hand, wrist. When he tore his gaze away from the sight of her ass rippling from the impact of his thrusts to glimpse her profile, he saw she wore an expression of naked passion. Her eyes were closed and she'd drawn one side of her lower lip into her mouth, held it there with her teeth. Her face was flushed and loose tendrils of hair stuck to her sweaty brow.

"Laura, you are so beautiful -"

"Mmm..."

" - so sexy."

His hand at her hip left its place to skim over the curve of her ass as Bill brifely stilled his movements, savoring the moment.

Laura pushed back into him and whimpered impatiently, "Frak me, Bill, please..."

At her request, he returned the hand to her hip and began pounding into her.

"This what you want, Laura?" he grunted.

"Yesss, gods yes. Oh, please, Bill, frak me - harder..."

Her voice, her words, the sound of their flesh slapping wetly together all threatened to undo him. He bit down on his tongue, trying to ward off his impending release. The effort was futile.

"Laura - ah, godsdamnit, I'm gonna come, can you -"

"I'm ... right there... with you..." she panted.

Having given up on fighting against the inevitable, Bill drove into her with abandon. As his orgasm approached, his movements became erratic, his rhythm lost.

"Laura -"

"I'm - OH! Oh, my gods, oh my gods, yesss, Billll..." she shouted as she arched her back and came fiercely.

Upon her vocal release, a drawn out "F-frak" escaped through Bill's clenched teeth as he jerked his hips and came hard.

Laura's arms collapsed beneath her and she dropped to her stomach on the table, her chest heaving. Bill slid his arms around her waist and pressed his chest to her back, drawing ragged breaths as his cock continued to pulse inside her. She turned her head, resting a heated cheek against the cool surface of the table, and puffed out a breath to blow an errant strand of hair from her face.

They lay together like that for a moment, Bill softly brushing a hand up and down Laura's side, each easing down from the heights of their orgasm. As the haze began to clear from her mind, Laura became increasingly aware of the buttons and hard seams of Bill's uniform jacket pressing uncomfortably into her back through the thin material of her blouse. She was also having a difficult time catching her breath, as Bill's weight crushed down on her from behind. She struggled to pull her arms underneath her and push up against his chest.

"Bill. Get off me. I can't breathe," she gasped.

She felt his body shake slightly with a chuckle before he planted a kiss at the back of her neck and moved to brace his weight with a hand to either side of her. He dipped his head towards her upturned ear and said, "You take my breath away too, Laura."

He pushed off the table to stand upright, his softening cock slipping from her body to hang limply over the elastic of his hastily pushed down boxers. Laura rolled onto her shoulder, a wide grin splitting her face. Bill took her hand and pulled her to her feet. She felt the warmth of his ejaculate making a slow trail from inside her, spreading to coat the inside of her thighs with sticky wetness.

Literally weak in the knees from their encounter, Laura slid her arms around his waist, dropped her head to his chest. Bill wrapped his arms around hers, pulled her more tightly to him and rested his chin on top of her head. With a satisfied sigh, she eventually lifted her face to his and graced his lips with a tender kiss. He pulled back from her mouth and placed a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Worth the wait?"

Her lips curled into a smile and her eyes sparkled as they met his. "You bet," she answered as she moved in for another kiss. They shared sweet kisses until their mutual smiles made it impossible to continue to do so. They stood for a moment, foreheads pressed together in their embrace.

Bill was first to break the contact. He took a step back from her and, resting his hands on her hips, took in Laura's appearance. His eyes traveled from her still-shod feet, followed her shapely calves to where her panties stretched taught around her knees, over the wiry curls between her legs, to where her skirt sat bunched in a mass of wrinkles at her waist. His eyes trailed over the disheveled shirt that stuck to her sweaty body, up to where her tangled hair framed her flushed face. She squirmed a bit under his scrutiny, gave him a sheepish smile. He shook his head and laughed.

"You're a mess."

She snorted. "Flatterer."

"I think they call that look 'Fabulously Frakked.' "

Laura smiled and stepped closer to him, put her hands on his chest. "An accurate reflection of how I'm feeling right now, Admiral," she said softly, toying with the brass buttons of his jacket.

"I serve at the pleasure of the President," Bill quipped, though she wouldn't be sworn in again until the following day. She smiled at him and gave his chest a gentle shove, forcing him to take a step back.

"All kidding aside, Bill, I'm gonna have to get cleaned up."

He nodded and stepped aside, sweeping his arm out to indicate a path. "You know where everything is."

Her eyes flicked over to the hatch at the head and back again. She cocked her head in that direction. "You coming?"

"Right behind you."

Laura bent to pull her underwear down the length of her legs and off her feet, dropped them to the deck. She kicked out of her shoes as Bill unbuttoned and removed his jacket. He watched her cross the distance to the head, not having bothered to pull the rumpled skirt down from around her waist. He smacked her now-bare ass as she brushed by him. Though she jumped and emitted a startled little yelp, she turned her head and flashed a smile as she crossed the threshold into the head.

She moved straight to the shower, ducked her head behind the curtain, twisting the knobs until she was satisfied with the temperature of the running water. She pulled two towels out from under the sink and threw them over the rod. Bill came in as Laura was shimmying out of her skirt and beginning to unbutton her blouse. She tossed him a smile and a wink in the mirror. She noticed that he'd removed his boots and socks and had left his jacket outside over the back of a chair. He flashed her a grin of his own as he stood behind her in the mirror and pulled the tanks over his head. Laura reached back to unhook her bra and turned to face him as the straps were sliding down her arms. He'd pushed down his trousers and was stepping out of them when she sling-shot her bra at him. It hit him square in the face and he blinked and flinched slightly in surprise. When he looked over at her she was wearing a broad smile. She chuffed out a short laugh before rolling her eyes upwards and giving a little shrug of her shoulders. He stepped over the bra to stand in front of her and took her face in his hands. He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth.

"You tryin' to be cute?"

"I don't have to try - I'm just naturally cute."

She quickly kissed him back before breaking for the shower. Bill slipped in behind her as Laura turned her face up into the spray. As she raised her hands to draw them over her face and back into her hair, Bill raised his hands to her breasts. He dropped his chin down to her shoulder and pressed a kiss into her neck. Laura moved to turn around in his arms and Bill's hands slid against her wet skin. When she stopped to face him, her hands upon his biceps, he was palming her breasts. She spit water into his face and laughed as he sputtered. At his petulant look, Laura lifted a hand to cup his craggy face and murmured,"Let's get clean before we get dirty again."

She kissed him as the water sprayed against her back. Bill broke from the kiss and stepped around her into the stream of water. Laura began to soap up behind him. Then she stepped around him to rinse under the flow as he lathered up behind her. They continued this dance until both had shampooed and rinsed their hair and Bill reached to turn off the water.

They each pulled down a towel to begin the process of drying their bodies. They bumped knees and elbows trying to maneuver around each other in the small stall until Bill finally stepped out into the head. Laura bent over to wrap the towel around her wet hair.

She exited the shower as Bill was closing his towel around his waist. She plucked his robe from the hook on the wall beside the hatch and slipped into it. Laura gathered her discarded clothes and left the head as Bill ran a hand through his wet hair at the mirror above the sink.

When he walked out into the cabin, Bill headed to his wardrobe to fish out a clean pair of boxers. He dropped the towel and pulled on the underwear, glancing over to where Laura stood folding her shirt. She placed it on top of the skirt already neatly folded on the table, bent to retrieve the underwear she'd ditched earlier. As she stood and added the panties to her little pile of clothes, he asked "Can you stay?"

She hesitated before answering. "That depends."

Bill raised an eyebrow, "On..?" he prompted.

She flicked her gaze down to her bare feet, then raised her eyes to lock onto his again. "Can I use your toothbrush in the morning?"

He cracked a grin. "What's mine is yours, Laura."


	2. The Longer the Waiting Chapter 2

Lee staggered through _Galactica's _corridors, losing his balance often as a result of having imbibed what most would deem too much of the Chief's homemade brew. He himself felt as though he hadn't drunk enough. He'd have liked to have drunk himself into oblivion so as not to remember seeing Kara hanging all over Anders at the crew gathering. He wanted not to remember the insults about his weight that she - and others - had flung at him. And he'd especially like to forget Dee's semi-public ass-chewing, her stinging comments about his behavior and his "fascination" with Kara all the more painful because they were true.

Having been forbidden by his wife from returning tonight to their newly assigned quarters aboard _Galactica, _Lee trod an uneven path towards the Admiral's quarters, figuring his father wouldn't mind putting him up on the couch for the night. He was forced to stop more than once to catch his breath and take his bearings, blissfully blind to the stares of passersby as he bent at the waist sucking in air, his uniform jacket unbuttoned and hanging open to reveal his protruding belly.

Upon finally reaching the steps leading down to his dad's quarters, Lee leaned heavily into the bulkhead for support as he made the precarious descent to the hatch. He thanked the gods he didn't have to deal with a marine guard - vaguely remembered his father telling him he'd given them the night off, too. He put a hand to the wheel, steadying himself with the other braced on the bulkhead, and spun it slowly. When he heard the door mechanisms click, Lee heaved a grateful sigh and pushed the heavy hatch open.

Once inside the Admiral's living space, Lee closed the hatch behind him as quietly as his condition allowed, a near herculean task as he was suddenly and thoroughly exhausted. He turned slowly in the direction of his father's sectional couch, squinting in the comparative darkness.

'_Good,' _he thought, '_the Old Man's already turned in for the night.'_

As he made his way across the short distance on leaden legs, he fought to extract his uncooperative arms from the sleeves of his jacket. His jubilance at having won the battle with his jacket was short lived, as Lee banged into the solid wood trunk in front of the couch, his shins contacting painfully. He mumbled a slurred curse, threw his uniform tunic to the couch in a fit of pique and began to maneuver unsteadily around the low chest in the dark. As soon as he reached the safety of the leather couch, Lee dropped headlong onto the cushions, boots and all. He closed his eyes against the sudden spinning of the room and was mercifully asleep within seconds.

****************************************

Laura's struggle from the depths of sleep to wakefulness was no doubt made more difficult by the lingering effects of the New Caprican cigarette she and Bill had earlier shared, which had caused their premature slip into slumber in the first place. She thought maybe Bill had stirred, rousing her, but when she lifted her head to look at him, she quickly determined that he was still deeply sleeping. Had she heard something? Laura squinted into the darkness beyond the meager pool of light cast by the upturned reading lamp at the head of Bill's rack, tilted her head to listen for any unfamiliar noise in the cabin. The only sound to reach her ears over Bill's soft snore was the comforting thrum of _Galactica's_ engines.

Satisfied that she'd not been woken by any external provocation, Laura slowly tucked herself back into place at Bill's side. As she settled her head on his shoulder, her thoughts wandered to long nights spent alone in her drafty tent on that wretched planet - sleep there often interrupted by the near constant cacophony of too many people living in too close proximity. It would take time, she supposed, to re-acclimate to the relative quiet a star ship afforded.

Laura, unable now to fall back to sleep, allowed her mind to further wander, to think back on more pleasant memories of New Caprica. The time she'd spent teaching, the freedoms - such as they were - she'd enjoyed as a private citizen, the friendships she'd forged, the long walks she'd taken away from the settlement on those rare days when the weather had cooperated. And of course, every minute she'd spent with Bill during his brief stays planetside. Prior to the occupation, his presence in her life, above all else, made bearable all that was wrong with having been made to settle on that hellhole. And now, after long months of anxious separation, Laura was grateful to be lying again in the warmth of his embrace.

She tipped her head up to indulge in a quick study of Bill's face in repose: features relaxed, lips parted slightly to accommodate long exhalations, lids fluttering with the images of the dreams hidden from her. Smiling, Laura lifted her hand to run a finger over the small white spot on his lower lip, the result of his having burned the soft tissue there in an attempt to coax one last lung-full of smoke from the souvenir she'd smuggled aboard. Laura had just passed what remained of the joint back to him after having taken a long drag herself, warned him of its diminished size and told him to stub it out in the ashtray. Rather than reaching back to the shelf behind his head to put it out, Bill had called her "Bogart" and said there was one last hit to be had. She'd laughed hysterically when the resin-soaked paper had stuck to his mouth, the tiny fireball fell to his chest, and he'd shot up out of the rack issuing a string of profanities, brushing and slapping at his chest in mild panic.

She giggled now, replaying the scene in her head, then sucked in a surprised breath when Bill snatched her hand from his mouth.

"A kiss might help take my mind off the pain," he murmured.

Laura hummed her agreement, shifted her body until she was almost fully on top of him, her face hovering inches from his. She dipped down, brushed her mouth against his with the barest of touches, mindful of the tender blemish. When she made to pull back from him, Bill wrapped his arms around her bare back and pulled her body more tightly to him, flattening her breasts against the hard plane of his chest. He lifted his head from the pillow on which it rested, pressed his mouth to hers more firmly. She happily parted her lips to his probing tongue, deepening the kiss with a low moan. Bill slid a hand up to cup the back of Laura's head, threading his fingers through her still-damp hair to ensure that their mouths remained engaged as he dropped his head back down to the pillow.

They continued their communion of lips, tongues and teeth unhurried, their movements slowed, senses heightened by the residual high they'd earlier achieved. Laura slid her hands under Bill's neck, redistributed her weight, rolled them both until they were laying on their sides facing each other.

Bill broke from her mouth, raked his teeth along the loose skin of her neck, down to nip gently at her shoulder, then kissed his way back up to her hairline.

"See?" he whispered in her ear, "All better."

Laura smiled, tipped her head at an angle to allow him better access to her neck and slid a hand into his thick, silky hair.

"I'm glad to know it's in working order," she teased. "Now put it to good use."

"Yes, ma'am," Bill drawled lazily.

He continued to work his mouth over the smooth column of her exposed neck, sucking and biting until Laura shivered and he felt gooseflesh raise under his hand on her arm. He lifted the hand, palmed her breast, plucked at the taught nipple. When Laura eased onto her back, Bill pushed up onto his elbow for support and drew a wet trail with the tip of his tongue from her neck to the curve of her ample breast. He latched onto her, flicking his warm, wet tongue around her peaked nipple and she arched into the contact with a sharply drawn breath. Bill carefully and completely attended to every centimeter of her firm flesh, licking, sucking and biting. At last, he sucked hard at her as he raised his head, stretching her pliant flesh until she slipped from his mouth, watched as the weight of her breast quivered before settling again into its perfectly rounded form atop her chest. With a little growl, he moved to concentrate his efforts on the other breast.

Having endured his slow, sweet torture with her eyes closed, Laura's lids fluttered open when Bill moved to position himself above her. She spread her legs to make room for him between them and he rested his weight on his forearms, one planted on each side of her. As he settled over her body, Bill dipped his head and Laura watched as he dragged his tongue from the valley between her breasts to her navel. When he pushed his tongue into her navel, swirled it around, she began giggling and squirming.

"_Bill!,"_ she squealed, "That tickles!"

Laura instinctively attempted to curl up into a protective position, but Bill held her legs firmly in place with a strong grip to each of her thighs as he continued to lick at her. She laughed while she tried to fight him off, pulled his hair, bucked her hips. He finally relented, looking up at her with a crooked grin, eyes dancing with mischief. She smacked the back of his head playfully, shaking her head at him, unable to contain her own grin on seeing his spirited expression.

"I've missed your laugh, Laura," Bill said quietly, wistfully.

Laura smiled down at him tenderly, reached one hand down to brush the backs of her fingers across the rough skin of his cheek in a delicate caress. With the other hand, she pulled a pillow over to elevate her head so she could continue watching him without straining her neck.

Bill planted an open-mouthed kiss to the soft skin of her flat belly then scooted further down her body, until his feet pressed against the bulkhead at the foot of his rack, his mouth at Laura's center. He swept his tongue through the hot, velvety skin of her folds, up and over her clit several times in quick succession, spreading the wetness of her arousal with his mouth.

Laura closed her eyes, sucked in a long breath at Bill's skillful touch.

"Oh, Billlll," she breathed, his name a sigh.

He grunted in response, smoothed his hands down her silky skin, pressed against the inside of her thighs, encouraging her to open her legs more fully. When she complied with his unspoken request, he pushed first one, then another, finger into the slick heat of her body. Bill positioned his tongue just above her clit, began stroking downward over the hard nub with firm pressure while he thrust his fingers in and out of her, his movements slow and deliberate.

Laura writhed languidly beneath him, circled her hips slowly as she felt an orgasm quickly building.

"Oh gods," she whimpered. "Oh, Bill - ohhhh, gods," she moaned, voice almost plaintive, rolling her head from side to side on the pillow as her legs started to twitch with her approaching orgasm. She balled the sheet into her fists on each side of her body as Bill continued his steadfast assault.

"_Oh_ my gods!" she cried loudly, jerked her hips off the mattress and came. "Oh my _gods - _Billll, oh gods - _oh my gods!_" she shouted, the volume and pitch of her voice rising with the crescendo of her release.

Bill kept a steady rhythm, his mouth and hand working leisurely in concert to prolong Laura's pleasure. When she began to quiet, eased back down to the thin mattress, rolling her hips ever more slowly and less erratically, he withdrew his fingers from her. He closed his lips around her swollen clit, sucked hard and sent a tremor through Laura's body, causing her to cry out and arch her back stiffly.

***************************************

Lee's eyes snapped open and he blinked a couple times to bring his surroundings into focus, remembered that he'd passed out on the couch in his dad's quarters. He rolled slowly onto his back, a string of drool stretching from his lip until it broke to puddle on the cushion into which his face has just been pressed. He dragged the back of his hand across his mouth, swept his gaze around the darkened living area, wondering what had coaxed him from his drunken sleep. Had he heard something? Lee was quickly able to determine that no call to action had sounded over the PA, as any alert would have been urgently repeated. Though no lamps were lit in the main room, a faint light emanating from the back of the cabin allowed Lee to see that nothing seemed to be amiss. He lay still for a moment, listening intently, heard no sound other than the comforting thrum of _Galactica's _engines.

Settling back onto the firm leather cushions beneath him, Lee bunched his previously discarded jacket into some semblance of a pillow, relaxed with a deep breath and waited for sleep to reclaim him.

*****************************************

Bill crawled up and off Laura, stretched out on his side with his back to the bulkhead and draped his arm across her ribs. She turned to her side, slid her hand to his chest and kissed him passionately. She hummed at tasting herself on his mouth, licked her rich, earthy essence from his lips before pulling back to look into his eyes.

"You're really good at that," she whispered. "I'd forgotten just how good."

Bill snickered, said "I'd forgotten how _loud_ you are."

Laura slammed her eyes shut, dropped her forehead onto his chin to hide her face from him. He chuckled at her display of embarrassment, brought his hand up to smooth the hair back from her forehead, pulling her back up to face him in the process.

"It's sexy, Laura," he rumbled, kissed her full lips. "I love to hear you enjoying yourself."

She smiled bashfully, lifted her hand to his mouth, plucked at his bottom lip with her index finger.

"Good thing," she whispered, eyes locked onto the mouth which had just pleasured her, "because I can't hold back with you."

Bill kissed the tip of her finger then nuzzled into her neck, wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"Gods, what you do for my ego, Laura."

Laura huffed out a short laugh, kissed his ear, swirled her tongue around its outer edge. She squeezed the muscles of her ass, pushed her hips into his, felt the hardness of his erection through the boxers he still wore. Bill groaned at the contact, rolled his hips and pressed back against her, adjusted his head to suck at her neck.

"Why don't we see if I can make _you_ scream _my _name," she said, a challenge.

"I'm game," Bill enthused.

Laura pushed him onto his back, sat up and gracefully flung a leg over him to straddle his waist. She grinned wickedly and waggled her eyebrows at his look of mild surprise. She ran her hands down his chest, over the slight paunch of his stomach and back up to tweak his nipples, bent down to take one in her mouth. She mirrored Bill's earlier actions, moved to suck at the other little peak before running her tongue along the length of his scar to swirl around his navel, shifted down to settle between his legs. Laura looked up to see him grinning down at her.

"I'm not ticklish, Laura," he said smugly. "But that does feel good."

"Oh it gets better," she replied confidently.

She wriggled further down his body, stopped to cup her mouth over the bulge in his underwear, warmed him through the thin cotton with a hot breath. Bill, propped up on his elbows, watched as Laura tugged at the elastic waistband, lifted his hips from the mattress, allowing her to slip the boxers down over his ass. She sat up, drew them down and off his legs, tossed them to the deck. She fluidly insinuated herself between his parted legs again, gripped the shaft of his erection and took the tip of him into her mouth.

Bill groaned as Laura's hot, wet tongue flitted around the swollen head of his cock, her hand slowly stroked his length. She dipped her head, quickly swallowed him whole, drew both her hand and mouth from root to tip with calculated slowness. Bill's gaze was focused on the sight of his dick, sliding between Laura's lips, shining in the low light with the moisture her actions created. His head dropped back on his neck and he released a long, labored breath as Laura squeezed him more tightly, began twisting her wrist as she pulled his cock through her fist, increased the suction with which she drew him into her mouth.

His arms gave out as Laura moved her other hand to fondle his balls and Bill collapsed back to the rack. His hands shot down to her head, fingers tangled in her hair. He drove up into her mouth, applied gentle pressure to the back of her head, desperate to speed her pace. Laura resisted, continued working him with slow, deep movements.

"Frak, Laura," he hissed after long moments, "you're driving me crazy."

She finally acquiesced to his urgency , released him from her mouth and began stroking his thick cock firmly and quickly. When she bent her head to suck his balls into her mouth, Bill drew his knees up, let them fall apart to grant her better access. Laura continued moving her clenched hand up and down his rigid length with swift movements, while her lips and tongue worked slowly below in delicious contrast.

Just as Bill closed his eyes in concentration, attempting to ward off ejaculation, Laura raised her head and closed her lips around the head of his cock . She pumped her fist along his shaft, bobbed quickly up and down, noisily sucking just his tip in and out of her mouth. He groaned at the overwhelming sensation of her combined tight grip and suction, felt the tingly beginnings of his impending release.

"Laura," he growled, looked down at her, pulled her hair. "Laura, stop, please - "

In raising her head to look at him, Bill's cock popped free from her mouth. Laura's eyes were hooded, her gaze held surprised confusion.

Bill leaned forward, reached to grab her under her arms, dragged her up his body and reclined again with her atop him.

"I don't wanna come in your mouth, Laura," he panted. "I wanna frak you."

Laura's eyes fell shut and she moaned, pressed down on the hard length of him trapped between their bodies.

"Gods, yes, Bill," she whispered, kissed him ardently, messily, mouth open.

Bill returned her kiss with fervor, grabbed her waist and ground into her, prompting Laura to push up off his chest into a sitting position, her legs on either side of him. She raised to her knees, reached between them and positioned his cock at her entrance. She didn't hesitate in sinking down onto him, gasped at the welcome fullness in taking him into her body.

**************************************

Lee lay on the couch trying desperately to ignore his almost painfully full bladder. He didn't want to have to get up to take a leak but was sure he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep until he relieved himself. With a resigned sigh, he swung his legs off the couch, sat up and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. He rose slowly, glad to find that he was neither dizzy nor unsteady on his feet. Eager to return to the blessed state of unconsciousness, he set off in the direction of the head.

As he approached the curve in the bulkhead across from the leather club chairs, Lee heard a rustling from his father's bunk. Fearing he'd woken his dad, he endeavored to move the rest of the distance to the bathroom more quietly. He rounded the bend and stopped short at the sight in front of him, his mouth fell open, eyes widened.

He stared in disbelief at the naked woman sitting astride his prone father. It took his brain a moment to process the fact that the woman was Laura Roslin, that she was _riding _his father, that they were _frakking._

Lee stepped quickly out of the open space, out of view, pressed his back flat against the bulkhead, his heart racing. He closed his eyes, shook his head to clear the impossible image from his mind.

'_I'm drunk,' _he thought, '_I did not just see that.'_

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly when the sound of a long, throaty moan reached his ears. The voice was unmistakably that of the President of the Colonies, huskier, though, than he'd ever heard it.

Lee stood there, molded to the wall, willing his breath to slow, his thoughts to organize. He opened his eyes, scanned the distance he'd come from the living area, weighed the odds that he could retrace his steps and retreat unnoticed. He swung his head back around when the melodic sound of the President's voice washed over him, the dulcet tone of her vocalizations shooting straight to his cock.

Driven by the powerful desire to see a woman, any woman, especially _Laura frakkin' Roslin_, in the throes of passion, Lee took a step away from the wall, peered around the bend until the President came into his line of sight. Her hair was wild about her shoulders, the russet tresses glowing in the muted light cast down from somewhere above her. From where Lee stood, her pale skin appeared to be iridescent, shimmering with fine beads of perspiration. She had one hand behind her, clutching at the muscled thigh he knew (but didn't dwell on) belonged to his father, her other hand covered the darker one gripping her hip. Her eyes were closed, her brow knit. He watched in rapt attention as her full breasts swayed with the gentle motion of her hips, her pink tongue darted out to wet her lips.

Lee realized he was no longer seeing Laura Roslin, staid President of the Twelve colonies, but Laura, the woman. And he thought she was beautiful in her abandon, sexy as all hell.

Without his having been aware, Lee's hand had traveled down to the front of his pants, stroked his erection through the thick fabric of his uniform. He knew what he was doing wrong - on so many levels - but Lee could not, did not want to, tear himself away from the scene unfolding before him. He blamed his blatant bad behavior on the remaining alcohol in his system, began rubbing at his cock with gusto.

****************************************

Incredibly, Laura felt the distinct stirring of another orgasm. She attributed her body's hyper-sensitivity and eager responsiveness to the drug in her system and the forced, months-long abstinence.

"_Bill,"_ she gasped, "Oh, Bill, I'm -"

She suddenly arched her back, threw her head back.

"- _coming_!" she cried out. "_Oh, gods_, Bill, I'm coming ... I'm coming...."

She trailed off, hips rising and falling as she rocked above him. Bill tightened his grip on her hips, drove up into her as Laura's body was wracked by the intensity of her release. While she convulsed around him, her head tipped forward, her back bowed and her hands dropped to his chest for support. Her hair fell from her shoulders, framed her face, swung with the continual motion of her body. When she opened her eyes, she found Bill staring at her, raw desire naked in his gaze.

Bill jolted upright, flipping Laura to her back at the foot of his rack. He quickly got to his knees, grabbed her legs behind the knee, pressed them forward until the front of her thighs were brushing her breasts. He groaned when he thrust back into her tight, wet heat.

"Frak me," she moaned, "Frak me .... hard, Bill."

Bill growled, his lips curled back from his teeth. Sweat ran in rivulets down his face, chest, his breath came in harsh gasps as he frakked her. Laura reached around and grabbed her knees, pulled them back further, opened herself wide, planted her feet on his biceps. Bill pounded into her, his movements and tempo becoming erratic in that telltale sign of imminent release.

"Frak," he muttered through clenched teeth. "Laura - oh _shit_ - ah, frak - _Laura!"_

He flexed his ass, bucked his hips, crashed into her body. He buried himself in her depths, came with a roar. Bill ground into her, his cocked twitched and pulsed as he emptied himself in spurts inside Laura.

****************************************

Lee had almost come in his pants when he'd witnessed Laura's orgasm. He'd had to bite down on his tongue to keep the moan from escaping his throat on seeing her ecstasy. He knew he wouldn't have been heard over her cries, but remained quiet just to be safe. He'd been so engrossed in the erotic tableau that he'd not even been shocked back to reality by the sudden appearance of his father's face. He'd continued to watch as his dad frakked Laura, frakked her hard. He'd had to bite his tongue again, squeeze his cock painfully tight to keep from coming himself.

As he looked on now, his father collapsed atop Laura, she wrapped her arms around his back and he turned his face into her neck. They began murmuring to each other in soothing tones, words Lee couldn't hear but could guess were the tender endearments of contented lovers.

The sudden fear that one or both of them would rise to wash or relieve themselves finally spurred Lee into action. He turned on his heel and quickly and carefully made his way to the hatch at the front of the cabin. He spun the wheel infinitely slowly, sent up a prayer that the hinges would not squeak when he pulled the heavy hatch open. His shoulders drooped and he sighed in relief when he was able to noiselessly crack the door wide enough for him to squeeze through when he sucked in his gut. He tugged the hatch back into place in its frame, waited for the soft click indicating the latch was secure then took off at a rapid pace.

Lee was still buzzed, still hard and still had nowhere to go. He ducked into the officer's head halfway between the Admiral's quarters and sickbay, happy to find the facilities empty. He charged into one of the stalls, pulled the door closed behind him and engaged the lock. He worked the button on his uniform trousers free from its hole, lowered the zipper and pushed his underwear and pants down to his ankles. He knew he was taking a risk in pulling one off here, but he could hardly walk the corridors with a raging hard on. He sat on the toilet seat, took his erection in hand and began stroking himself. He closed his eyes, conjured up the images of a naked Laura Roslin, pictured himself frakking her from behind, imagined her velvety voice calling his name.

He knew he would come quickly and as he envisioned the President's luscious lips wrapped around his cock, he went over the edge with a grunt and a whispered "Laura." He directed his dick down, came into the toilet bowl.

As he waited out the subsequent spasms, as his erection diminished, Lee unrolled some tissue and ripped it along its perforated line. He stood, wiped his hand and dabbed at his dick, tossed the tissue in the toilet and flushed. He pulled up his pants and exited the stall as he fastened them at his thick waist. He crossed the room to wash his hands in one of the stainless steel sinks. The running water triggered his urge to pee and he realized he'd never taken care of that need in his father's head. The need reasserted itself now with a vengeance and Lee pulled his zipper down again as he ran over to a urinal. His thoughts were jumbled as he emptied his bladder: he contemplated his father's relationship with the President, briefly reflected on his feelings towards having seen Kara again, wondered where he might go upon leaving the head.

The guilt and disgust he'd been starting to feel at having perversely intruded on his dad, the stress of the last week, the uncertainty of the future all seemed a bit distant to Lee after having jerked off. He felt momentarily satisfied, relaxed. And exhausted.

He zipped up, left the head and trudged towards sickbay. If he couldn't find an open bed there, he'd happily sleep on the floor.

***************************************

Laura woke to the distant sound of running water. She knew without opening her eyes that Bill was not in bed with her, that he'd risen before her and was in the shower. Recalling their energetic lovemaking of the previous night, she smiled to herself, sighed deeply. She hadn't felt this relaxed in ... gods knew how long. She reached her arms over her head, stretched languidly, winced as sore muscles protested. She opened her eyes and sat up, surprised to see that she'd slept with her head at the foot of Bill's rack. They'd never righted themselves, she realized, after they'd frakked that last time. She smiled to herself again.

When she swung her legs out of bed and stood, Laura hissed in mild discomfort. Her knees were stiff, her thighs were tight and she experienced a dull ache between her legs. She knew she was getting too old for what Bill lovingly called "circus sex," but she didn't care. Her aches and pains would serve as a sweet reminder of their union. She again smiled to herself, retrieved Bill's robe from where she'd left it on one of his leather chairs, shrugged into it and padded into the head.

"Good morning," she called, yawning, as she approached the sink. Bill returned her greeting from behind the shower curtain as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She looked rough, her hair a mess of tangled curls, eyes puffy from too little sleep, lips swollen, but she didn't care. She laughed at her reflection before moving towards the toilet to relieve herself.

Before exiting the head, Laura pulled back the shower curtain and smiled in at a soapy Bill.

"You comin' in?" he asked.

"No. I just wanted a kiss good morning," she replied.

He chuckled and leaned forward to peck her lightly on the mouth.

"Good morning," he rumbled, grinned as he flung water at her.

The shower curtain fell from her hands as she quickly raised them in an attempt to cover her face. Bill laughed, told her she wouldn't melt, pulled the curtain taught again and moved under the water to rinse off. Laura snaked a hand behind the vinyl curtain, turned the knob from hot to cold and quickly withdrew her arm. As she sprinted from the room, Bill's curses followed her.

While she waited for Bill to finish up in the bathroom, Laura called Tory, asked her assistant to bring her a bag when she shuttled over from _Colonial One. _She made up Bill's rack employing the military techniques he'd demonstrated on numerous occasions on New Caprica. She poured herself a glass of water from the decanter on his service cart and carried it over to sit on the couch.

Laura set her glass down on the low chest, picked up the disheveled uniform tunic from the middle of the couch and was attempting to shake the wrinkles out of it when Bill exited the head.

"I hope you have another jacket in the closet because this one's seen better days," she said as she turned in his direction.

Laura looked at him, smiled and nodded when she saw that he was wearing what appeared to be a freshly laundered jacket, was just buttoning the collar. Bill furrowed his brow, looked back at her, puzzled.

"The tunic I wore last night is in the hamper," he said. "I took this one from the closet this morning," he continued, walking towards her. "I only have two jackets, Laura."

"Then where did this come from?" she asked, turning the garment in question over in her hands.

"Let me see that," Bill said sharply.

When Laura handed it to him, he flipped it over, fingered the metal at the collar.

"These rank insignia are Commander's pins," he said slowly, his nostrils flaring.

"What? Whose -"

"This is Lee's jacket, Laura," he told her.

"But, it wasn't here when we came in last night, and Lee was _wearing _his jacket when we saw him on the hangar deck - it doesn't make sense," she said, shaking her head.

Bill sucked in a deep breath, released it and threw the jacket forcefully onto the couch behind Laura.

"It makes sense, Laura, if Lee came in here sometime during the night," he rasped.


	3. Chapter 3

It was official: Laura Roslin had reclaimed the title of President of the Twelve Colonies. Bill had been proud, of course, on seeing her recite the oath of office, had felt a profound sense of relief that the fate of humanity was once again in her capable hands. He'd harbored intense guilt at having talked her out of stealing the election from Baltar, felt responsible for the suffering their people had endured under his governance on New Caprica. Though he and _Galactica _had returned and freed the people from the yoke of Cylon tyranny, Bill knew they'd all been irrevocably changed by the experience. He'd seen the faces of those who'd once been so familiar to him changed, haunted by whatever horrors they'd been subjected to on that miserable planet. He'd felt their joy at having been rescued tempered by the resentment of having been left behind in the first place. With Laura's reinstatement to the presidency, and his hand in pressuring Zarek to ensure that inevitability, Bill felt some small measure of redemption. He saw her swearing in as the first step on what he knew would be a long road to recovery.

But as he'd watched her stand, hand raised, in front of the press corp, the assembled government, military and civilian representatives of the fleet, Bill had also felt a selfish pang of sadness. The realization that his relationship with Laura would not, could not, be the same as when she'd been a private citizen had hit him with a sudden, jarring force. He'd felt _Laura _retreating and _President Roslin _advancing with every heartfelt word she'd spoken in pledging to defend the Articles of Colonization, had no doubt that she'd indeed do so with every fiber of her being. He couldn't help the niggling fear that humanity's gain would ultimately result in his personal loss.

Unable to shake the melancholia that had chased him back to _Galactica, _Bill wanted nothing more than to hole up in his quarters for a time, attempt to shake the funk that appeared to be settling in. But he'd scheduled a one-on-one with Lee, ostensibly to discuss the Commander's future rank and role in the wake of the destruction of the _Pegasus. _While he did intend to address those issues, Bill's primary objective in meeting with Lee was to uncover the truth behind how his son's uniform jacket had materialized on his couch over the course of the previous night.

He and Laura had agreed that the best plan of attack in determining whether or not Lee had entered Bill's quarters while they'd been in bed together was a direct approach. Though she'd strongly encouraged Bill to be frank and forthright in asking Lee what he might have seen or heard, Laura wanted no part in the confrontation. She had argued that her presence during such a discussion would make Lee uncomfortable, would surely inhibit his willingness to be honest in his answers. When Bill had suggested that she was just chicken-shit, Laura had hidden her face in her hands and admitted as much. He hadn't really expected her to be there when he met with Lee, but he'd had fun coaxing Laura's confession of cowardice from her.

As he drew nearer his cabin and thus the dreaded meeting with his son, Bill decided the occasion called for a drink. Or two. To say that he was not looking forward to having this particular talk with Lee was an understatement. He convinced himself that it would be less awkward if he had a couple drinks under his belt, that the alcohol would relieve him of some of the tension he'd been carrying around all day, therefore allowing him to calmly face whatever came of the meeting.

When he rounded the bend in the corridor, Bill's mood immediately brightened on seeing Laura's security detail stationed outside his quarters. He acknowledged her guards with a nod as he passed, stepped through the hatch his own guard had opened.

******************************

Lee had known as soon as he'd been rudely awakened in sickbay by a pissed off Doctor Cottle that the day ahead would be unpleasant. He'd quickly been thrown out of sickbay, the crotchety old doctor's tirade about 'young idiots who can't hold their liquor' echoing down the corridor as he'd beat a hasty retreat. His head had ached, his mouth had tasted of dirty socks, and he'd had no idea where his newly assigned quarters were.

After an embarrassing phone call to the quartermaster, Lee had finally made his way to the billet he would be sharing with Dee. He hadn't exactly been welcomed home with open arms, but his wife had cooled somewhat since he'd last encountered her on the hangar deck. He'd forged a fragile peace with Dee, had showered and dressed in a clean uniform when the Admiral had rung to request a meeting later in the day. It was only then, on hearing his father's voice over the comm, that the memories of the previous night had come rushing back to Lee. He'd been barely able to fake his way through the rest of the short conversation, the vivid images of his dad frakking Laura Roslin having rendered him nearly incoherent.

Too few hours later, Lee followed a beaten path through the corridors toward the admiral's quarters. He decided en route to ask as few questions as possible, give as succinct answers as possible and get the meeting over with as quickly as possible. He guessed that time would alleviate the awkward feelings he was bound to have on seeing his dad or the president - _especially _the president - and that he'd eventually be able to look at each of them without flashing back to what he'd witnessed. At present, however, Lee's recollection of the previous night's events was still too graphically detailed to allow him any hope that the coming meeting with his father would be anything other than uncomfortable.

As he continued to make his way to his dad's cabin, Lee repeated over and over in his head '_Get in, get it over with, get out,' _like a mantra.

******************************

When Bill closed the hatch to his cabin behind him, his eyes went immediately to where the newly-reinstated President of the Twelve Colonies sat on his burnished leather couch. Her legs were curled underneath her, her glasses were situated at the end of her nose and she held a thick file in her hands.

"Madame President," he greeted upon approaching her.

"Admiral," she returned, closed the cover on the file and stretched to drop it on the coffee table.

As Laura leaned back and pulled the glasses from her face, she smiled sweetly up at Bill when he stopped to stand beside the low chest in front of the couch.

"How is it," she started, folded her glasses and hung them from the neck of her white shirt, "that you left _Colonial One _before I did, but I beat you home?"

Her use of the word "home," the ease with which it rolled off her tongue, made Bill's heart swell.

"I had to stop in CIC," he said by way of explanation. "You know - make sure the security of the human race continues to run smoothly."

"And is it, Admiral?" she asked with feigned formality and raised brows.

"Steady as she goes, Madame President," he assured her, smiled.

"Glad to hear it," she said, nodded as he stepped over her discarded shoes and dropped onto the cushion beside her. "I'd hate to have to censure the top military brass my first day back in the big chair."

"How about a commendation for ceaseless devotion to duty instead?" he asked, pulled Laura onto his lap and kissed her smiling mouth.

"You want a medal, Admiral?" she purred, wrapped her arms around Bill's neck.

"I was thinking more along the lines of a blow job, Madame President."

The smile on Laura's face split into a wide grin and she laughed when he waggled his eyebrows at her theatrically.

"Is that how your superiors have recognized your dutiful service in past?" she asked, shifted in his lap until she was straddling his muscled thighs.

"No," Bill admitted, slid his hands down her back to cradle her firm ass. "But I didn't serve any of them quite as dutifully as I do you."

He covered her mouth with his, parted her lips with his tongue and silenced the beginnings of her chuckle. Laura hummed, accepted his hot, wet kiss and wound her fingers into the hair at the back of his head. Bill lifted one hand from its place on her ass, tugged the hem of her blouse from the waistband of her black pants and slipped his fingers underneath to smooth over the cool, bare skin of her back. As they broke from the kiss, Laura wrapped her arms more tightly around Bill's neck, hugged him to her as she pressed the side of her face to his.

"I missed you today," she whispered and he chuckled.

"You woke up in my bed, Laura," he said, "spent most of the morning with me then saw me at the swearing-in."

"I know," she said, sighed, sat back in his lap and ran her hands over the coarse fabric that covered his chest. "I think," she continued, as her eyes followed the movement of her hands, "I'm already missing the Laura I am when I'm with you. And I'm afraid -"

"Hey," Bill interrupted when her voice wavered, raised her face with a finger under her chin until she engaged his eyes. He smiled sadly at the unshed tears he saw shining in her eyes, at her effort to blink them back, and nodded his head.

"I know, Laura," he said. "I know what you're afraid of, and the thought of things changing between us scares me, too."

"Things _will_ change, Bill," she said quietly, wiped at the single tear that slipped from her eye, shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah," he sighed, pulled her into a hug.

Laura rested her head on Bill's shoulder, closed her eyes against the threat of more tears. She took a shuddering breath, felt his arms tighten around her, his hand smooth down the length of her hair, and drew comfort from the gesture.

"We'll manage," she said optimistically into his shoulder.

"Yeah," he echoed, began to rub warm circles onto her back with the hand he had beneath her shirt. "But just in case, you might wanna give me that blow job now."

She snorted, laughed as she straightened to come face to face with him.

"We'll be okay, Laura," he said sincerely as his hands dropped to rest on her hips. She nodded, smiled crookedly.

"We will," she agreed, leaned in and kissed him.

When she sat up, Bill watched in fascination as Laura reached behind her back, deftly unhooked her bra, pulled it off one shoulder with a hand up her sleeve then snaked the lacy white garment out the other sleeve. She lifted an eyebrow and smiled mischievously at him as she held the scrap of fabric between her thumb and forefinger, dropped it to the floor beside and behind her. He grinned and palmed her liberated breasts through the ribbed fabric of her white blouse.

Laura covered his big, dark hands with hers, pressed his fingers into her flesh. She cocked her head as a sharp rap sounded at the hatch.

"That will be Lee," Bill said distractedly.

"_What?" _she asked incredulously, grabbed his hands and flung them from her body. "He's here now? About last night?"

Bill smiled, chuckled at her wide eyes.

"Yep," he confirmed, "Need to find out what he knows."

Laura jumped from his lap, turned her back to him and began to frantically stuff the hem of her shirt into her pants while she tried unsuccessfully to step into her shoes at the same time.

"What the hell, Bill?," she accused as he pushed up from the couch, stepped around her towards the hatch. "You just let me sit here - you knew he was coming and you just let me - oh for frak's _sake!"_

He laughed outright as she stammered then cursed when she fumbled the shoe she'd just picked up and it flew out of her hands. When she bent at the waist to retrieve her footwear, she glared up at him through the curtain of red curls that had fallen over her face and he laughed again at her murderous look. Bill stepped quickly to his left when she stood suddenly, chucked one of her black pumps at him.

"You wanna go hide in the bathroom, chicken-shit?" he asked through his laughter, gestured towards the head with an outstretched hand.

"Oh, frak off," Laura answered, threw her other shoe at his back when he turned to open the door for his son.

Though he winced at the contact, Bill kept a steady stride, reached and pushed open the hatch as Laura nervously combed her fingers through her hair and her black heel clattered to the deck behind him.

******************************

Lee's legs had turned to jelly when he'd rounded the corner to the admiral's quarters and been met by the president's security detail. He'd have cut and run had the marines not seen him and immediately snapped to attention. He'd thought the meeting with his father would be uncomfortable, but a meeting with his father _and_ Laura Roslin would be _excruciatingly _uncomfortable. Unable to avoid further delay under the watchful gaze of the president's marines, Lee had raised his arm and pounded on the hatch with a gathering sense of impending doom.

When the heavy door swung open, his surprise at seeing a silly smile on his dad's face momentarily supplanted Lee's cloying feeling of dread.

"Dad," he said, smiled and nodded in greeting.

"Hey, son, c'mon in," Bill returned, stepped aside to admit Lee.

When his eyes landed on President Roslin as she stood smiling in his direction, Lee hesitated, had to will his legs to carry him forward into the living area. He came to a stop a few feet from the president and a furious blush shot up his neck, washed over his face and he had to look away, down at his feet.

"Madame President," he mumbled by way of greeting.

Laura blanched on Lee's reaction to her presence, turned a pained expression to Bill.

"I guess we have our answer," she said, managing to keep her voice steady as she dropped onto a corner of the coffee table, covered her face with her hands.

Lee jerked his head up, brow furrowed in confusion, and looked at his dad.

"What answer?" he asked, "What's the question?" He chanced a quick glance at the president, looked quickly away when she eyed him from between her long fingers.

Bill narrowed his blue eyes, looked intently into his son's and leaned over, grabbed the jacket adorned with commander's pins from the arm of the sofa.

"We know you were here last night, Lee," Bill said evenly, tossed the tunic to him, nodded at the article of clothing in Lee's hand when he reflexively caught it at his rounded midsection, "So the question is, what caused you to run out so quickly that you forgot half your uniform?"

Laura's hands slid from her face as she tilted her head up in anticipation of the younger Adama's answer. Bill watched as his son's eyes widened and the color drained from his face. Lee swallowed nervously, licked his lips, realized the meeting had _skyrocketed_ past uncomfortable.

"Dad," he squeaked, cleared his throat and looked up at Bill. "I can explain."

Bill's expression was steely and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Please, do," he rumbled, arched an eyebrow.

"Okay," Lee began, sucked in a deep breath, shifted his weight from one foot to the other and kept his eyes fixed on the jacket that had betrayed him. "I, uh, crashed on your couch, yes, but I heard something ... something woke me up -"

He looked back and forth between the admiral and the president when Bill shot an accusatory glance at Laura and she pinched the bridge of her nose, shook her head.

" - so I left. Spent the rest of the night in sickbay," he finished quickly, looked over at his dad and shrugged his shoulders.

"It's the _something_ that woke you up we wanna talk about, Lee," Bill said gently, pointed to the couch. "Sit down, son."

Lee squeezed his eyes shut, dropped his head back on his neck.

"Dad, you don't have to -"

"Sit down," Bill repeated, more firmly.

Laura rose from her perch on the edge of the coffee table and exchanged an anxious glance with Lee as he skirted the corner on his way to sit down. Bill rounded the other end of the table, stopped short on seeing Laura's bra lying on the patterned rug at his feet. When he looked up, he knew from Lee's stricken gaze and Laura's horrified expression that they, too, had seen it. He picked it up off the deck, held the frilly piece of underwear out to Laura with the beginnings of a grin on his face. She stared in utter mortification at the bra she'd mere moments ago removed as it dangled from Bill's fingers over the center of the coffee table. Lee dropped heavily onto the couch, leaned back and rolled his head from side to side.

"I need a drink," he mumbled.

Bill saw it coming, watched the change roll across Laura's face, wasn't surprised when the rich, throaty laughter bubbled up and out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry," she laughed, reached out and snatched the dainty garment from Bill's meaty paw. "Oh my gods, I'm so sorry, Bill - _Lee_," she squeaked, clutched the bra to her chest and bowed her head. She tried to stave off the giggles by purposely _not_ looking at either of the men across from her.

"Laura," Bill said, the tone of his voice indicating he shared her merriment, "Why don't you, uh ..."

"Go hide in the head?" she choked out and began moving off in the direction of the bathroom.

_"Chicken-shit," _Bill whispered from the corner of his mouth, smiled as she passed him.

Laura burst into hysterical laughter, whipped his shoulder with the bra and disappeared into the head.

Bill briefly closed his eyes, shook his head at the absurdity of the situation in which he found himself. When he looked over at Lee, his son was staring back him with eyes wide and mouth agape.

"You do need a drink," he chuckled, walked to the service cart.

"Bring the bottle," Lee sat up and shouted, slumped back into the couch on seeing Bill acknowledge his demand with a wave of his hand.

******************************

Laura stepped over the threshold into Bill's living area - both composure and bra firmly in place - after having killed more than fifteen minutes in the bathroom. She wasn't surprised to find father and son sitting side by side on the couch, silently sipping from glasses of scotch. She smiled when she saw the decanter on the table in front of them, had to work at suppressing the urge to laugh at their obvious discomfort. She took a few long steps in their direction, cleared her throat and grinned when both their heads popped up.

"I'm gonna go," she said, smiled at Bill, pulled her glasses from the front of her shirt and slid them onto her face. She scanned the deck for her shoes, bent to collect them when she spotted the black heels and pushed her feet into them.

Bill rose and walked her to the hatch with a hand at her elbow.

"Making your escape?" he asked, voice low but imbued with mirth.

Laura smiled and ducked her head, looked up at him through her lashes.

"Yes," she chuckled. "There's no room for me in this _father-son_ chat. But I'll be back," she assured him, "when the coast is clear."

He nodded at her statement, smiled at her wink when she lifted her head.

She turned to where Lee was still seated.

"It was good to see you, Lee," she said cheerfully, barked out a short laugh when he refused to meet her gaze, quietly and painfully replied "You, too, ma'am," and continued to stare at his boots.

When she looked back at Bill, he was smiling and shaking his head at her. As he raised a hand to the wheel on the hatch, he dropped the other to the small of her back when she turned to the door.

"Laura," he rumbled from behind her, slid the hand on her back up to her waist as she did a half-turn to face him again. He dropped his eyes to her mouth, flicked them back up to engage hers as he leaned in and kissed her.

"I'll see you later?"

"Yes," she answered softly, dipped her head in a curt nod as Bill pushed open the hatch. When she spun on her heel and exited his quarters, he watched her detail fall in behind her before he swung the door closed again.

"Why didn't you tell me, dad?" Lee asked from across the room.

Bill sighed and made his way back to his seat on the cushion beside his son. He raised his glass to his lips, emptied the amber contents and poured a refill before he leaned back and answered.

"It's none of your business, Lee," he said gently.

Lee stared into the bottom of his glass, nodded reluctantly in acceptance of the truth of his dad's statement.

"Do you love her?" he asked, caught and kept Bill's gaze until the elder Adama broke eye contact, looked down to where he was swirling the liquid in his own glass.

"It's ... complicated," Bill finally said.

"The head of the military in bed - _literally - _with the head of the civilian government?" Lee scoffed. "Yeah, I'd say that's complicated."

Bill looked sideways at his son.

"She wasn't the president when we ... started this," he said, sighed and shook his head. "But you're right - now that she's been sworn in again ..." he trailed off, shrugged his shoulders, threw back the rest of his drink and set the empty glass down on the coffee table.

Lee felt chagrined on seeing the doubt, a hint of sadness cloud his father's blue eyes.

"I'm sorry, dad," he said sincerely, "What are you gonna do?"

"I don't wanna give her up, Lee," Bill confessed, looked at his son. "And it's not about the sex - though the sex is great - "

" - looked like it," Lee snorted, looked quickly away when Bill narrowed his eyes menacingly.

"Obviously," he continued, "Laura's beautiful -"

"_Hot," _Lee interjected emphatically, laughed at his dad's scowl. "I'm sorry - I'm sorry," he chuckled, raised a hand in surrender, finished the last of his drink and slammed his glass down next to Bill's. "No more poking the bear, I promise."

Bill's nostrils flared and his lips twitched, but he took a deep breath and went on.

"Laura's beautiful," he glared at Lee, "Everybody knows she's smart and charming. But she's also got a wicked sense of humor and an incredibly tender heart. She's strong, yes, but she can also be so ... _fragile_, Lee. She ..." he shook his head, put his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, eyes glued to the deck between his feet. "She smiles when she sleeps," he said in quiet wonder.

Lee sat forward, mirrored his father's posture and, smiling, hung his head. His dad was in love, whether the man admitted it or not.

"My point is," Bill sighed, looked over at Lee, "Laura's a woman, not just the president. I'm a man, not just your father and the admiral. We're capable of separating ourselves from our jobs. But I'm not sure people are capable of believing that."

Lee pondered Bill's words, realized that he wanted his dad to be happy - that his dad _deserved _to be happy. And the fact that he found happiness with the woman who just happened to be the President of the Twelve Colonies shouldn't matter.

"I believe it, dad," he said, clapped his hand on Bill's shoulder. "I'll do whatever I can to make things easier for you and ... _Laura."_

Bill chuckled at the difficulty Lee had in using Laura's first name.

"You can start," he said evenly, looked into his son's thoughtful eyes, "by knocking before you come in."

Lee cracked a smile, patted Bill on the back and nodded.

"Done," he said.

"And stop blushing when you see her," Bill laughed.

Lee groaned, scrubbed his hands over his face and leaned back into the couch. He looked uncertainly at his dad and his mouth turned up into the smallest of smiles.

"That," he said, "is gonna take some time."

Bill chuckled and nodded. His own smile tapered as he sobered and he looked intently at Lee.

"And keep this to yourself for now, will you?"

Lee nodded, looked down at his clasped hands.

"Of course," he said seriously, then snapped his head up and looked at Bill curiously. "Anyone else know?"

"Yeah," Bill answered, sat back. "Saul and Tory, for practical - _logistical _- reasons..."

Lee nodded.

"... and our guards," Bill continued, turned to Lee with a grin splitting his face, "Hell, you heard her - "

" - She is ... _vocal," _Lee agreed uncomfortably, blushed hotly.

Bill laughed, enjoying his son's turn at discomfort, and stood to collect the bottle of liquor and their glasses.

"Now that that's outta the way," he said over his shoulder as he walked toward the service cart, "let's talk about your new assignment."

******************************

Having showered and redressed in clean boxers and tanks after Lee's departure, Bill stood at the sink and dragged a razor over the rough surface of his face. When he'd scraped off the last of the whiskers and shaving cream, he rinsed the blade under the stream of water from the faucet and set it aside. As he cupped his hands to catch and throw water onto his face, he heard the hatch to his quarters creak open. He shut off the tap, grabbed a towel from the rack and rubbed at the droplets dripping from his broad nose and rounded chin. When he stuck his head out of the bathroom, he saw Laura kicking off her shoes just inside the door.

She glanced up and smiled shyly when she caught his eye.

"Can I assume that it's safe to come in?" she asked and Bill chuckled as he walked out to greet her.

"Yes," he answered, returned her smile as he approached. "All clear."

"How'd it go?" she asked tentatively, took the towel from his shoulder and dabbed at bits of shaving cream he'd missed in rinsing his face.

Bill slipped his arms around Laura's waist, pulled her tightly to him and smiled lovingly at the anxiety her green eyes held.

"It went well, Laura - everything's fine," he soothed and she relaxed in his arms, dropped her hands and the towel to his chest, smiled up at him.

"Oh thank _gods," _she said, blew out a long breath. "So, you and Lee? You're okay?"

"Yeah, we're good," he answered, leaned in and covered her mouth with his, kissed her slowly, deliberately.

Laura wound her arms around his thick neck, dropped the towel she'd held and wove her long fingers into his damp hair. She moaned into his mouth when he tilted his hips, pressed his erection into her belly.

"You ready to make good on that commendation, Madame President?" he growled in her ear, sucked the lobe into his hot mouth and she hummed, tipped her head back to grant his questing mouth better access to her neck.

"Happy to, Admiral," she purred, "just as soon as you remind me why your ... _dedicated service ... _is deserving of such an honor."


End file.
